Ryan Cowley October 7, 2016Comments Off on Bittersweet Feelings Aplenty as LA Kings Prepare for Final Frozen Fury

Image credit: Chris Thomas

It is hard to imagine that anyone can invest so much time, effort and excitement into an exhibition game. That, however, has been just the case for the Los Angeles Kings and their fanbase since 1997.

Since then, Kings fans from around the world — much less California — came to witness their team making their final preseason tune-ups while enjoying a vacation while meeting other Kings fans they had never met before. But while this is the end of an era for the Los Angeles Kings and their ever-loyal fanbase, it is also business as usual as these two games are the final two preseason games for the silver-and-black this week.

It has been an eventful preseason for the Kings who placed quite a few players on waivers — they have all since cleared — but entering Frozen Fury weekend, the silver-and-black have some unanswered questions. How will Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty look after their respective World Cup runs? Will Adrian Kempe make the big club? How about Devin Setoguchi?

Since Las Vegas was granted an NHL franchise for the 2017-18 campaign, this season marks the last that Sin City will be a neutral site, hence Frozen Fury coming to a close.

This weekend, for the first time since 2013, the Kings will host two games: first on Friday night against the Dallas Stars and finally on Saturday when they face off against the Colorado Avalanche, who they have played 15 previous times during this celebrated weekend.

Donald MacLean ended a thrilling debut against the Avs in 1997 when the Kings won in overtime, but we will see just how Frozen Fury wraps up as players, coaches and fans alike take in all the excitement and all the memories of this prestigious event.

About Ryan Cowley

Ryan Cowley has been writing about the Los Angeles Kings since 2009, beginning as the head writer and editor of Make Way for the Kings since its inception. Until the summer of 2015, Make Way was run by the FanvsFan Network (www.makewayforthekings.com) but has since become independent at its new address: www.makewayforthekings.net
Ryan is an NHL-accredited writer who has covered such events as the Stanley Cup Final and Stadium Series. He is also a graduate of Comedy Writing & Performance from Humber College in Toronto, Ontario.